Nigeria Content Online

The Commissioner
for Health in Ogun State, Kunle Salako yesterday officially joined the
governorship race for 2011 in the state under the banner of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mr Salako was among
12 other aspirants who scaled through a screening exercise conducted by
a committee from the Ogun West Senatorial District (Yewa/Awori axis),
following agitation by the zone to be the one to provide the next
governor of the state.

Addressing a press
conference in Abeokuta about his ambitions, the commissioner explained
that he had made a number of consultations before entering into the
race, adding that his zone cannot continue to play second fiddle in the
affairs of the state since its creation.

“I took my time to consult with my family, God and my kinsmen, and resolved that we can’t always sit on the fence,” he said.

“One must come out to be part of the process, and I am not afraid. This is a divine assignment I can’t turn away.”

Uplift the state

He said if elected
into office, he would facilitate the return of business to the state
and would also continue to handle the fund burden.

“If I am given the opportunity to rule, I would not disappoint the electorate who offer me the opportunity,” he said.

Mr Salako said the electorate in the state are his political
godfathers, whom he believes will rally round him with both cash and
votes. “I am not a rich man, but if the entire Ogun State believes in
me, they would raise money for the project,” he said. “My coming to
contest is not to antagonize anybody, but to tell the public that I am
capable and competent to rule. All electorate in Ogun State are my
godfathers. If they give the opportunity to rule, I must not disappoint
my godfathers.”

The chairman of the
Labour Party, Dan Iwuanyanwu, yesterday refuted reports that the former
governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, is a member of his party.

Mr Duke, who
resigned his membership of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
in June, is widely speculated to have pitched his tent with the Labour
Party, on which he allegedly plans to realise his presidential
ambition. The party shares the fourth largest party position with the
All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), each controlling a state.

Mr Iwuanyanwu said
the last time he checked, Mr Duke, who is his personal friend, was not
a member of his party as widely speculated.

“As of yesterday, I
don’t think Donald Duke has joined our party,” Mr Iwuanyanwu said. “I
am aware he resigned from the PDP but he is not yet a member of our
party.” He, however, added that Mr Duke has the right to be a member of
the party.

In a letter
addressed to the Cross River State Chairman of the PDP and dated April
29, Mr Duke described his former party as, “dysfunctional, unable to
articulate a road map and lead Nigerians on a clear and concise path to
national renewal.” He later revealed how politicians rigged elections
in the country after he publicly declared his ambition to run for the
presidential elections in 2011.

“I know he intends to play a major role in 2011 but I don’t know under which platform,” Mr Anyanwu said.

Party with brand name

Mr Anyanwu also
denied having any talks with Nuhu Ribadu, another presidential
candidate; but spoke well of Mr Ribadu’s chairmanship of the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“In our party, we
don’t force people,” he said. “Labour Party is a brand name. We can
only talk to you, without being immodest, that you are in the wrong
place; why not come and run under our platform? Some have moved, but we
don’t pressurize people because if you pressurize them, they may jump
out when things get worse.” Mr Anyanwu, however, said his party has got
four “solid” presidential candidates from which one will emerge after
serious screening.

He added that his
party, unlike the PDP, was not bothered about which region in the
country the candidate was born, but is rather focused on a candidate
who will deliver an already mapped out blue print to prosper Nigeria.

“What is important and paramount to us is to have a presidential
candidate that can stand the test of time and understands Nigeria and
that is ready to work. We don’t want a situation where we have a
candidate who does not understand Nigeria but because he is from one
part of the country, he is voted into office,” he said.

The presidential ambition of Goodluck
Jonathan for the 2011 elections has received a boost from the National
Reformation Party (NRP) led by Anthony Enahoro, which said the need for
a renewed obligation to nation-building and his constitutional right
empowered him to contest.

In a communiqué issued and signed by
Soni Chukwumah at the end of its National Working Committee (NWC)
meeting in Benin City, the NRP said it foresaw a glimmer of hope in
President Jonathan’s personal conduct and devoted approach so far
exhibited in critical sectors of energy and power generation, as well
as his restated global commitment to conduct free, fair and credible
elections in our country in 2011.

The party recalled that its foundation
was based on the desire of patriots drawn from all parts of Nigeria and
the diaspora to arouse reforms that would transform the country into a
modern nation-state as envisioned by the founding nationalists.

“To this end, it affirmed its position
that parliamentary federalism was the driving force for the growth of
critical regional sectors that came before unitary system was imposed
on the country to the country’s collective disadvantage till date,” the
party said.

The meeting, which was presided over by
Mr Enahoro, said any patriotic leadership with practical commitment to
advancing the course of true federalism and welfare of Nigerians would
bring fulfilment to Mr Enahoro’s lifetime persuasions.

Jonathan versus Babangida

Meanwhile, political tension is
building in Edo State, as supporters of Mr Jonathan and those of former
military president, Ibrahim Babangida trade words over the suitability
of their candidates for office.

Former Deputy President of the Senate,
Albert Legogie, had last Monday in Benin City, declared that Mr
Babangida was the best candidate of the PDP owing to his experience and
numerous achievements while he was military president of the country.

But the immediate past deputy governor
of the state and coordinator of the President Goodluck Jonathan
campaign in Edo State, Lucky Imasuen, described the claim as laughable.

“They are supporters of IBB; therefore, they have the right to
support him anyway. But Nigerians are very civilized now. IBB is a
great man, and he was president of this nation for eight years. But the
question is what else he wants to achieve for the nation. I read
Legogie saying that IBB helped in laying foundation for the nation’s
democracy, but I remember that this same man singlehandedly annulled
the freest and fairest election in this country,” Mr Imasuen said.

Hundreds of youth from across Nigeria on Thursday
staged a peaceful protest in Kano to demand the immediate release of
Hamza Al-Mustapha, a former chief security officer to the late Head of
State, Sani Abacha.

The youth, led by one Igwe Martins, converged under
the aegis of the ‘Movement for the emancipation of Hamza Al-Mustapha’
and carried an effigy of a human corpse in a traditional casket marked
‘rule of law is dead’.

The youth, who carried placards with inscriptions
such as ‘Goodluck, please free Al-Mustapha’, ‘Free Al-Mustapha’ and ‘12
years is too long, enough of this persecution’ marched through the
Kofar Nasarawa and state roads to the Kano State government house
complex, said the continued incarceration of Hamza Al-Mustapha is no
longer justifiable.

At the palace of the Emir of Kano, Mr Martins called
on Nigerians to explore all means of reaching out to relevant
authorities, aimed at ensuring the immediate release of Mr Al-Mustapha.

“The continuous detention of our son, Al-Mustapha,
has put the northern elements into serious issues of disharmony and
dilemma. Today, it has become absolutely imperative for every patriotic
northerner to sit down and truly answer the question: what wrong have
we done to Nigerian government?

“What is the similarity between Al-Mustapha’s case of
attempted murder and that of the OPC’s Ganiyu Adam and Frederick
Fasheun for the murder of seven policemen in 2002/03? The northern
youth have not forgotten the established cases of treason against the
likes of Asari Dokubo in 2006; Henry Okah in 2008; Nwazurike in
2007/08, etc.

“Today, all these people are freely enjoying their
freedom with their family and friends resulting from the general
amnesty granted by the government of Nigeria.

Political detention

Mr Martins also said the continuous detention of Mr Al-Mustapha is politically motivated.

Wanban Kano, Abass Sanusi who represented the Emir of
Kano, acknowledged that the issue of the continuous detention of the
soldier deserves the sympathy of any well meaning person in the polity.

He, thereby, assured that the Emirate council would
first explore the reason why the Al-Mustapha case has dragged this
long, before arriving at a decision to finally wade into the matter.

“The Emirate council is keen on ensuring justice and
fairness in this matter,” he said. “We would always do everything to
protect the lives and properties of our citizens.

“It is godly to love your neighbour as you would love yourself. We
plead for more time so that we can know why this case is taking too
long to decide. That is the only way we can see how we can assist you.”

The tension generated by the alleged de-accreditation
of the Medical and Dental courses in the University of Benin (UNIBEN)
by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria appears to have died down,
as normal activities resumed at the Ugbowo campus of the university
yesterday.

Thousands of students of the higher institution had
taken to the ever busy Ugbowo/Lagos Road on Tuesday to protest the
de-accreditation of the said courses, thereby, disrupting vehicular and
human movement for several hours.

A visit to the campus showed that academic activities
were in full flow. Students were seen receiving lectures in several
lecture halls, while administrative offices were also full of activity.
The famous Akin Deko Hall was full to capacity, as it played host to a
memorial lecture organized by the university.

Still apprehensive

Some of the students directly affected by the
de-accreditation were, however, still apprehensive about their fate,
although they refused to be identified.

A female final year dentistry student said she could
not imagine not been able to get her certificate after going through
all the stress of studying. She appealed to the school authority to
expedite action to meet with the requirement of the regulatory council
in order to resolve the issue.

Another final year medical student also expressed
concern, should the Medical and Dental council of Nigeria decide not to
rescind their decision.

“Just think of it, I am already seeing myself as a
medical doctor. That is the dream of many of us. But to hear that the
dream is suddenly dashed, it’s suicidal, my brother. They should rather
kill us physically than killing our dreams,” he said.

It thus appears that the atmosphere could be best
described as uneasy calm, pending the outcome of the meeting of the
Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN with management of the Nigerian Medical and
Dental Council of Nigeria, in Abuja, as some of the students are
threatening to go back to the streets if things are not formalized.

A visit to the public relations officer of the school, Osaze
Osarenren, to obtain his comment yielded no result, as he was attending
a meeting with the vice chancellor. Calls to his phone were not
answered either.

The Ondo State Police Command yesterday made a major
breakthrough in its quest to rid the state of criminals, as it paraded
over 52 suspected criminals arrested between July and August this year.
The suspects were arrested for offences ranging from armed robbery,
kidnapping and cultism.

Though most of the suspects denied the allegations
levelled against them, some admitted that they actually committed the
offences and pleaded for mercy.

While parading the suspects at the police
headquarters situated along Igbatoro Road, the state police
commissioner, Ballah Magaji Nasarawa, said the arrests were made in
over eight local government areas of the state. He added that the
suspects were arrested based on tip-offs from members of the public
during distress calls. He explained that 14 of the suspects were
apprehended with dangerous weapons during the recently concluded Ogun
festival in the ancient town of Ondo. “The suspects allegedly attacked
two innocent people who are currently receiving treatment in an
undisclosed hospital in Ondo town,” he said.

Mr Nasarawa added that the suspects will soon be charged to court for conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.

Kidnappers and robbers

Also paraded by the police were two natives of
Okitipupa, Daniel Sunday and Biyi Beke, who allegedly kidnapped a
10-year-old boy, Daniel Iyaomolere. The duo were said to have kidnapped
a boy from Lawanson area of Lagos and later moved the boy to Omotosho
area of Ondo State where they were apprehended by detectives. The
suspects said they were pushed to commit the offence by the situation
of things in the country.

Another gang of six robbery suspects, who have
allegedly been snatching cars at gun point in Akure and other parts of
the state, were also paraded. The police boss said they normally robbed
vehicles at gunpoint in Akure and drove the stolen vehicles to Lagos to
sell.

“Their modus operandi is that these robbers normally
rob a vehicle at gun point from Akure and ferry it to Lagos and sell
it. While in Lagos, they will rob another vehicle and bring it to Akure
and keep it at the state specialist hospital, Akure, collect a tag and
leave it there for safe keeping without the knowledge of the hospital
authority, while they scout for a buyer,” he said.

Mr Nasarawa also informed that four of the robbers
that raided banks in Akure and Ikare had been arrested in Effurun in
Delta State while four other members of the group were arrested in Ogun
State. He said police officers from the command identified the robbery
suspects through the CCTV footage retrieved from one of the banks
robbed in Akure.

Some of the weapons recovered from the robbers were:
one military multi purpose machine gun, two military rocket launchers,
five rockets launchers, dynamite, three strands of explosive cords and
115 magazines painted in military colours with 30 rounds of live
ammunition each.